Guide assembly for article coating machines



March 12, 1957 A. M. MASON GUIDE ASSEMBLY FOR ARTICLE COATING MACHINESFiled June 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 12, 1957 MASON 2,784,696

GUIDE ASSEMBLY FOR ARTICLE COATING MACHINES Filed June 1, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. /4/'/@ M M450 ATTOENEK United States Patent i2,784,696 GUIDE ASSEMBLY FOR ARTICLE COATING MACHINES Arie M. Mason,Prairie Village, Kans., assignor to Mason Plastics Co., Inc., KansasCity, Kaus., a corporation of Kansas 4 4 Application in... 1, 1954,Serial No. 433,483 Claims. (21. 11s 4os This invention relates tostructure for use in machines for coating articles with suitablesubstances such as plastic materials and has for its primary object theprovision of an improved guiding assembly adapted to receive articles ofirregular diameters and maintain the same substantially centered along arectilinear path of travel so that a more even and uniform coating ofthe substance is applied thereto.

It is the most important object of the instant invention to provide aguiding structure adapted for immersion in the substance to be used tocoat an article and having a novelcollect arrangement operableautomatically to always remain in engagement with the article as it isadvanced through the collet and thereupon through the coating substance,all to the end that the article is held centered, particularly withrespect to a doctor plate used to wipe excess substance in the article.

An important object of the instant invention is to provide guidestructure for use with coating machines of the kind contemplatingadvancement of the article through the substance so that an excessamount of the latter is always made available to the article, the guideincluding a resilient collet so arranged as to engage and hold thearticle against lateral movement at all times while it is being advancedthrough the substance.

It is an important aim of the instant invention to procide in a guidestructure of the aforementioned character, a reciprocable segmented,resilient collet having a bore therethrough for receiving the article tobe coated and including cam means for biasing the segments against thearticle at all times while it is rotated and advanced through thecollet.

Other important aims and objects include the way in which a liner isprovided to guide the article to the col let; the way inwhich the guideis utilized for releasing the parts which hold the collet in place; themanner of providing a spring bias on the collet to render the cam meanseffective in varying the diameter of the bore through the collet; theway in which an interlocking connection is provided to releasably holdthe collet in place; the manner of feeding the coating substance to thearticle as it emerges from the outlet end of the collet and immediatelyprior to treatment by the said doctor plate; and the way in which all ofthe aforementioned structure is operably held in place within thesubstance by a specially formed guide body.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a guide assembly for articlecoating machines showing the same operably mounted within a vat orcontainer for the coating substance, parts being broken away and insection to reveal details of construction.

Fig. 2 is a enlarged, side elevational view of the guide assemblyentirely removed from the vat shown in Fig. 1.

- Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view taken on line III-4H ofFig. 2.

2,784,696 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 Fig. 4 is a transverse, cross-sectionalview taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse, cross-sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig.3.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view taken on line VI-VI ofFig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is an exploded, perspective view of the collet and the pressurering forming a part of the guide assembly showing the same entirelyremoved from the guide body of the assembly.

The field of coating articles of merchandise has increasingly expandedsince the development of many new synthetic plastic materials because ithas been found that such materials are capable of rendering variousarticles more resistant to wear, less subject to corrosion and otherdeterioration, stronger and more attractive.

In many applications advantageous results are experienced because ofinsulating properties of the coating substances. While the end resultsare extremely beneficial, it is most difficult to obtain an even,uniform coating of the plastic substances on the articles and such isnecessary, not only from the standpoint of attractiveness, but utility.Voids, irregular surfaces and overlapping should be avoided as much aspossible if the abovementioned results and advantages are to beattained.

Such plastic substances commence drying immediately upon exposure to theatmosphere and unless the coating is substantially uniform throughout,the surface of the article being coated, the drying and setting, willlikewise be nonuniform resulting in many rejects thereby increasing thecost of the entire operation.

According to the principles of the instant invention, the article to becoated is advanced through the coating substance and, by virtue of suchcomplete immersion of the article therewithin at least momentarily, anexcess of the substance is directed to the: article so that there isalways an assurance of a sufiicient amount thereof on the article priorto its being doctored by removal of excess substance.

Thus, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, there is provided a containeror vat broadly designated by the numeral 10 adapted to receive thecoating substance, and when the same is in the nature of a syntheticplastic, it is preferred that the same be in a highly viscous,

gelatinous state, yet sufliciently fluid to fiow freely to the articlethrough a plurality of passages 12 formed in an elongated, tubular guidebody broadly designated by the numeral 14.

Body 14 is carried by the container 10 partially immersed within thesubstance contained thereby and as shown in Fig. 1, body 14 extendsthrough one wall 16 of the container 10 with shoulder 18 of body 14engaging the inner face of wall 16. One end of the body 14 engages theopposite wall 20 of the container 10 and may be held in place by acircumscribing retainer ring 22 that may in turn be held in place withan outermost perforated ring 24 fastened to the wall 20. i

A removable collet broadly designated by the numeral 26, mounted in thebody 14 is made of any suitable resilient material and provided with anintegral, outturned, annular flange 28 on one end thereof, together witha frusto-conical head 30 integral with the opposite end of the tubularcollet 26.

By virtue of the tubular nature of the collet 26 it is adapted toreceive and guide an article 324 (Fig. 1) such as an elongated tube,rod, pole or the like, to be coated with the substance in container 10.The longitudinal bore through the collet 26 may be provided with anoutlet end 34 of reduced diameter if desired, whereby to define the areaof frictional engagement between the collet 26 and the article 32.

Collet 26 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal ayreaeea slits 36that extend through the head b ut not through the flange 28, presentinga number of elongated fingers or segments 38, adapted to flex radiallyby virtue of the resilient nature of the materialfromwhich collet 26 ismade. Head 30 is provided with anannularinclined cam surface andflange28,has a number of; short pins 42 extending radially outwardlyfrom its periphery.

r a r am in 4 d. i pl ew t in body by pins or the like 46, surrounds thehead 30. of collet 26 in engagement with the cam surface 40 which itcomplementally iits Cam ring 44 is provided witha seat 48for one end ofa spring 50 coiled about the collet 26 Within the body 14. A pressurering 52 freely movable within the body 14 has a seat 54 for the oppositeend of the spring 50 and is disposed in surrounding relationship to thefiange 28 of collet 26. Pressure ring 52 is provided with a slot 56 foreach pin 42 respectively, and a depression 58 on one face thereofregistering with eachslot 56 respectively.

The said one face of pressure ring 52 opposite to spring seat 54, isalso provided with a radial V-shaped groove 60 for each pin 42respectively.

It is now seen that when the pins 42 are within the grooves 60 as shownbest in Fig. 5 of the drawings, pressure ring 52 is disposed between thepins 42 and the spring 50, whereas the latter is interposed between thepressure ring 52 and the cam ring 44.

As the article 32 is advanced and rotated in the direction of the arrowsshown in Fig. 1, it is guided into the collet 26 by a liner 62 fittedwithin the body 14 and provided with an article-receiving bore 64.

Liner 62 has .an outturnedflange 66 exteriorly of the body 14 and of thecontainer 10 receiving a plurality of bolts 68 threaded into theproximal end of the body 14 for shifting the liner 62 longitudinally ofthe body 14 toward the pressure ring 52. Bolts 68 are freely rotatablein the flange 66, whereas a number of bolts 70 are threaded into theflange 66 as shown in Fig 1, and abut the proximal end of the body 14 tolock the liner 62 in place in cooperation with the bolts 68 and tofacilitate removal of the liner 62 after removal of the bolts 68.

The liner 62 is provided with a cavity 72 at its innermost end having adiameter sufficiently great to receive the flange 28 and its pins 42.

Assuming the various parts of the guide assembly to be assembled in themanner shown by Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the operation is asfollows:

Through use of any suitable mechanism not herein shown, the article 32is advanced rectilinearly and simultaneously rotated through the bore 64of liner 6 2, thence through the collet 26, through the coatingsubstance as the article 32 emerges from the outlet end 34 of collet 26,then through a circular opening ;74 of a dcctorplate E 76 and finallythrough an opening '78 in the outside ring 24. It is noted that thedoctor plate 7'6 is carried by the body 14 within a cavity 80 and heldin place against the inner face of wall 26 by the ring 24.

By virtue of the resiliency of the material from which the collet 26 ismade, the segments 38 thereof will spring outwardly in response to areasof increased diameter in the article 32 as such areas slide along theoutlet end 34 of the collet 26. In this respect it is to be pointed outthat notwithstanding the fact that the article 32 is of a generaluniform diameter, in many instances the diameter of the article 32varies, and by virtue of the continuous bias of the segments 38 on thearticle 32 as it is advanced and rotated, collet 26 will always hold thearticle 32 substantially centered with respect to the opening 74 in thedoctor plate 76.

In addition to the inherent resiliency of the collet 26 spring 50maintains a constant yieldable bias thereon tending to shift the collet26 toward the liner 62 whereby the diameter of the bore through thecollet 26 varies,

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depending upon the position of the head 30 within the cam ring 44.

The coating substance enters the body 14 through the passages 12 and isdirected to the article 32 in excess between the outlet end of thecollet 26 and the doctor plate 76 by virtue of the frusto conicalconfiguration of head 30. Excess coating substance is immediatelyremoved from the article 32 by the opening 74 in doctor plate 76 and, asthe article 32 emerges from the opening 78 in ring 24, the even uniformcoating of the substance on the article 32 commences drying immediatelyas it is subjected to the atmosphere.

It is extremely important to note that the entire guide assembly hasbeen designed to accommodate articles 32 of differing diameters and tothis end, the liner 62, the collet 26 and the doctor plate 76 are allquickly and readily interchangeable with like elements of differingsizes, V I

In making the change, removal of. the ring 24 releases the do'ctor plate,7 6. The bolts 70 are thereupon retracted and the bolts 68 are used toforce the liner62 inwardly toja point where it engages the pressure ring52 and shifts the latter toward the cam ring 44, thereby compressing thespring 50. This releases the pins 42 with respect to the grooves 60,whereupon by grasping the head 30, collet 26 may be turned 60 to alignthe pins 42v with the slots 56. The depressions 58 tend to guide thepins 42 into the slots 56, whereupon the collet 26 may be removed in itsentirety from within the body After removal of .the bolts 68, bolts 70may be used to retract the liner 62 to a point where it can he slippedoutv of the body 14.an d it is to be noted that all of these operationsmay be performedwithout removal of the body 14 from the container 10.

.ln replacingelernents 62, 26 and 76 of differing sizes so far as.internal diameters thereof are concerned, the steps .just above outlinedare simply reversed.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed as new. and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

. 1. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, acollet having an article-receiving bore .and a plurality of relativelymovable sections;.means includingia cam ring surrounding the colletandengaging the sections .for. forcing the sections toward the articleas it is advanced through the bore and upon shifting the collet in onedirection; apressure ring engaging the collet; resilient meansinterposed between the rings for yieldably holding the collet biased insaid one direction; means interlocking the collet and the pressure ringfor holding the collet against movement in the opposite direction; andmeans engageable with said pressure ring for shifting the latteragainst, the force of said resilient means to a position permittingunlocking of the collet from the pressure ri11g,-

In structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lastrnentioned meansis provided with an article-receiving bore for guiding the article tothe collet.

g 3'. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for atleast partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected,

resilient segments; and means in the body engaging the collet forcompressing the segments to vary the diameter of said bore uponreciprocable movement of the collet in the body. g

4. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and, provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; means in the body engaging the collet for compressing thesegments to vary the diameter of said bore upon reciprocable movement ofthe collet in the body; and a doctor plate carried by the body andspaced from said outlet end for removing excess substance from thearticle.

5. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; means in the body engaging the collet for compressing thesegments to vary the diameter of said bore upon reciprocable movement ofthe collet in the body; a doctor plate carried by the body and spacedfrom said outlet end for removing excess substance from the article; anda liner within the body for guiding the article to the collet, saidcollet being disposed between the liner and the doctor plate.

6. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; and a cam ring secured to the body around the collet, saidcollet being provided with a cam surface engaging the ring, whereby thediameter of the bore is varied as the collet is reciprocated in thebody.

7. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; a cam ring secured to the body around the collet, said colletbeing provided with a cam surface engaging the ring, whereby thediameter of the bore is varied as the collet is reciprocated in thebody; and spring means interposed between the body and the collet foryieldably urging the latter in one direction.

8. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted 1'' within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected,

resilient segments; a 'cam ring secured to the body around the collet,said collet being provided with a cam surface engaging the ring, wherebythe diameter of the bore is varied as the collet is reciprocated in thebody; a pressure ring within the body engaging the collet; and springmeans interposed between the body and the collet for yieldably urgingthe latter in one direction; a pressure ring within the body engagingthe collet.

9. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial immersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; a cam ring secured to the body around the collet, said colletbeing provided with a cam surface engaging the ring, whereby thediameter of the bore is varied as the collet is reciprocated in thebody; spring means interposed between the body and the collet foryieldably urging the latter in one direction; a pressure ring within thebody engaging the collet; and means interlocking the collet and thepressure ring for release from the latter and removal from the body uponcompression of said spring means against the cam ring.

10. In structure for guiding articles through a coating substance, aguide body adapted for at least partial irnmersion in said substance andprovided with a passage for the substance thereinto; a colletreciprocably mounted within the body and provided with anarticle-receiving bore therethrough having an outlet end adjacent saidpassage, said collet including a number of interconnected, resilientsegments; a cam ring secured to the body around the collet, said colletbeing provided with a cam surface engaging the ring, whereby thediameter of the bore is varied as the collet is reciprocated in thebody; spring means interposed between the body and the collet foryieldably urging the latter in one direction; a pressure ring within thebody engaging the collet; means interlocking the collet and the pressurering for release from the latter and removal from the body uponcompression of said spring means against the cam ring; and a liner forguiding the article to the collet, said liner being reciprocable in thebody to and from a position engaging the pressure ring to shift thelatter out of engagement with the collet in a direction compressing saidspring means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

